Tvorog

Tvorog (Russian Farmer's Cheese)

Tvorog is a fresh, tangy curd cheese central to Russian cuisine, traditionally made by souring milk and then gently heating it to separate the curds from the whey. It is eaten for breakfast with honey or jam, folded into pancakes, or used as a filling for vatrushka buns.

Prep

20 min

Cook

40 min

Total

60 min

Serves

About 500 g (about 1 lb 2 oz) of tvorog

Difficulty

Easy

Recipe ingredients

• •2 L (about 2 quarts) whole milk, raw or pasteurized (not UHT), preferably unhomogenized; see note
• •30 g (2 tbsp) sour cream or kefir, as a starter culture, or null
• •1 g (1/4 tsp) mesophilic starter culture, optional, helps control souring; or null
• •0 g (to taste) fine salt, optional, for a savory tvorog; or null

Steps

1. 1 Pour the milk into a heavy-bottomed pot and warm it gently to about 30-35°C (86-95°F). Stir in the sour cream or kefir (and the mesophilic starter, if using). Cover with a clean kitchen towel and leave at room temperature for 18-24 hours, until the milk has thickened into a yogurt-like consistency and tastes pleasantly tangy. Do not let it sit longer than 30 hours or it will become too sour.
2. 2 Place the pot on very low heat. Warm the soured milk slowly, stirring only at the edges with a wooden spoon, until it reaches 60-70°C (140-160°F). You will see the curds begin to separate from the greenish-yellow whey. Hold at this temperature for 5-10 minutes, then remove from the heat. Do not boil, or the curds will toughen.
3. 3 Line a large colander with two layers of fine cheesecloth or a clean cotton towel (a nut-milk bag also works). Pour the curd-and-whey mixture through and let the whey drain freely for 10 minutes.
4. 4 Gather the corners of the cloth and tie them to a wooden spoon suspended over the sink or a bowl. Let the curds hang and drip for 1 to 2 hours, until the tvorog reaches the dense, crumbly texture you want. For a drier, more commercial-style tvorog, place the filled cheesecloth between two plates and weight the top with a 1-2 kg (2-4 lb) can for 30-60 minutes more.
5. 5 Empty the curds into a bowl, breaking them up gently with a fork or your hands. If using, stir in salt to taste. Refrigerate in a covered container and use within 4-5 days. Reserve the whey for soups, pancakes, or bread-making.
6. 6 Safety note: Because this is a fresh, unfermented-then-cooked cheese made from milk that is held at room temperature, use only milk you trust. If you used pasteurized milk, the heat step above brings the curds to a safe temperature; if you used raw milk intended to remain raw, the cold-curd method does not destroy pathogens — pregnant people, young children, and the immunocompromised should use pasteurized milk and the heated method described above.